When designing a business and/or premium economy seat and corresponding LOPA (Layout of Passenger Accommodations) there are the inherently conflicting requirements of providing the feeling of space and comfort for the passenger whilst providing a high density seating configuration to maximise revenues for airlines. Passengers typically expect a lie-flat bed and a personal and private space, with access to storage areas, a personal TV/VDU monitor, a table and preferably other surfaces for use as a shelf or table. A privacy shell to provide the feeling of a private space may also be desirable. It is also desirable for a seat design and LOPA to be readily configurable for use in as many of the mainstream and common modern aircraft currently being manufactured and sold, such as for example Airbus' A330, A350, and A380 and Boeing's 747, 777, and 787.
Seat units of the prior art typically achieve such requirements, whilst also providing reasonably efficient packing of the seats in a given volume, by means of herringbone-type arrangements of seats and/or by means of creating foot-well regions that interface in a geometrically efficient manner in relation to the seats in front of the seats of the passengers using such foot-wells. A herringbone configuration is one in which the seats are orientated such that they face in a direction inclined to the longitudinal axis by a seat offset angle, although it is common for adjacent seats to face in different directions (e.g. one seat being inclined relative to the longitudinal axis by a seat offset angle in a clockwise direction and the adjacent seat being inclined relative to the longitudinal axis by a seat offset angle in an anti-clockwise direction). Some configurations have adjacent seats inclined to the longitudinal axis by a seat offset angle of the same sign. The higher the seat offset angle the lower the seat pitch needs to be (the seat pitch being the distance between rows in the direction perpendicular to the rows). Having a long seat pitch can compromise on packing efficiency, if the length of cabin is not close to an integer number multiplied by the seat pitch. Increasing the seat offset angle may reduce the number of seats that can be provided across the width of the cabin. Increasing the seat offset angle may also create areas of space between seat units and cabin walls or between seat units and an aisle that could risk wasting space if not utilised wisely.
Some examples of the prior art will now be described.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,489 discloses an aircraft cabin, in which there are installed seat units, each seat unit having a lie-flat seat and a console adjacent to the seat, the seat being configurable between a bed mode and a seat mode. Some of the seats, towards the nose of the aircraft, face in a direction inclined to the longitudinal axis. The console of a seat unit accommodates a foot-well for use by a passenger in the seat behind. The seat units do not appear to be designed to face in the same direction or to be arranged in rows where two or more seats are grouped together in the row. The seat arrangement is not particularly high density and is therefore more suitable to a first class suite of seat units.
WO 2009/073244 discloses an aircraft cabin, in which there are installed a plurality of lie-flat seats arranged in rows. The seats are arranged as three pairs per row, an aisle being defined between adjacent pairs. The seats in each pair are separated by a console. Some of the seats face in the same direction, said direction being inclined to the longitudinal axis of the cabin by an angle of about 15 degrees (the angle measured in the clockwise direction). Other seats face in a different direction, but inclined to the longitudinal axis of the cabin by an angle of about 15 degrees (the angle in this case being measured in the anti-clockwise direction). The feet of a passenger in a seat behind a console between two seats in front may be accommodated in a foot-well to the rear of the console. The low angle of inclination of the seats relative to the longitudinal axis of the cabin translates into a relatively long pitch of seat. Such a long pitch can affect packing efficiency in certain aircraft cabin layouts.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,918,504 discloses an aircraft cabin in which there are installed rows of seat units each unit having a forward facing lie-flat seat and an associated console, the seats facing in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cabin. The consoles provide foot-wells for the seats behind and successive rows alternate in configuration such that the consoles in one row are directly in front of the seats in the row behind. The armrest of a seat in one row overhangs the foot-well of the seat behind, providing a space-packing efficiency. However, the seats being arranged to face parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cabin translates into a relatively long pitch of seat, which may adversely affect packing efficiency in certain aircraft cabin layouts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,947,349 discloses an aircraft cabin in which there are installed angled rows of seat units each unit having a seat and an associated console. The seats face in a direction offset from the longitudinal axis of the cabin, but perpendicular to the direction in which the row extends across the aircraft cabin. The consoles in a row provide footrests for the seats in the row behind and armrests for the seats in the same row. The seats are not configured for conversion into a bed-mode.
When designing seats and LOPAs, consideration needs to be given not only to the requirements of the seated passenger and the available volume in the cabin but also to the requirements for sufficient access to and from and along the aisles of the aircraft. The aisles defined between seat units on a commercial aircraft need not be as wide at feet level as at arm level, given that the width of free space required by an average person when walking is greater above the waist than at feet level. The Federal Aviation Regulations specify that, unless special circumstances apply, for an aircraft having a passenger seating capacity of 20 or more, the passenger aisle width at any point between seats must equal or exceed 15 inches (˜381 mm) at a height of less than 25 inches (˜635 mm) and must equal or exceed 20 inches (˜508 mm) at a height of 25 inches (635 mm) or more. Aircraft manufacturers also recommend certain minimum aisle widths. Airbus recommends a minimum aisle width of 15.25 inches (˜387 mm) below a height of 25 inches (˜635 mm) and a minimum aisle width of 20.25 inches (˜514 mm) above a height of 25 inches (635 mm). Boeing recommends a minimum aisle width of 15.5 inches (˜394 mm) below a height of 25 inches (˜635 mm) and a minimum aisle width of 20.5 inches (˜521 mm) above a height of 25 inches (˜635 mm). Seat manufacturers tend to aim for minimum aisle widths higher than the figures stated above in order to provide air-crew better access along the aisle. An aisle width of at least 17 inches is preferred for example.
The present invention seeks to mitigate one or more of the above-mentioned problems. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide an improved high density seating system that can be utilised in a business class cabin region in an aircraft.